I've completed my first troop choice for my Sons of Horus army, or have I? My original intent was to paint chip the shields and corrode the face plates on the models, but after adding some streaking grime to the shields my inspiration fizzled. Should I press on and add dark grey paint chipping to the shields? Should I highlight the bronze face plates. Should I edge highlight the weapons? I probably should, but for now I am just happy to have these guys in a mostly completely state.
One of the things that has become apparent with these models is that Forgeworld needs to get its mold alignment / quality control back up to snuff. My DKOK models, which have delicate parts, and clean designs are nearly perfect. I love the products that Forgeworld produces, but none of these Breacher Marines could have been painted as part of a competitive entry without significant re-sculpting of details lost due to molds being misaligned during casting. I am painting Emperor's children and Sons of Horus, and right now all of the poor casts go into the grittier Sons of Horus army. That makes the problems less visible, but me no less grumpy. Games Workshop and Forgeworld have awesome customer service. Many companies could take a lesson from them, but the inconvenience of calling the UK to have models replaced, and then waiting weeks for the replacement parts is a poor exchange.
Fortunately for GW, I have a solution for them. (see how generous I am:)
- Repurpose the white/dwarf visions team as an online only group. Ditch the physical magazines. Paper is dead. This should save distribution costs and produce a produce people actually want. (when I say people I mean me.) As a niche product it is perfectly fine to produce technical articles, above and below the average modelers capability. The key is to do both and explain where they fit in the spectrum. Publicize local store events. (more of this on #2)
- Use local Nottingham students as QC/apprentice casters. A low labor rate, an enthusiastic gamer workforce, and giving back to the local community sounds like a win.
- Use this new employment pool to cast one-offs to send to local GW stores. The prize for winning a tournament or painting competition could be a special edition miniature. Provide stores with items that can only be acquired through participation.
Good suggestions for White Dwarf. I'd totally be into a GW run online blog with amazing pics, articles, previews, etc. Heck, I would even pay a subscription fee for that!
ReplyDeleteAbout the horus guys, the shields look great and I don't think they need any work. the helmets and face plates do need work though. What I'd probably do is paint the face plate like you have done the shield, but a little lighter to make it a focal point. Then I would weather and chip the face plate a bit - how cool would that be? Otherwise - these are still amazing and you really don't *have to do anything with them. Within an army they will look fantastic.
I guess you can tell I enjoyed painting the shields but found the rest a chore!
DeleteThe shields look fine as are John; agree with Tim on the heads though often less is more.
ReplyDeleteI'm someone that loves receiving/picking up a printed magazine, I work in front of a laptop all day and sometimes want to flick through a physical piece rather than take on more screen time. Obviously hideously disappointed by Visions - I wanted a vision not just a view, and I don't actually agree with those that thought the pics were great - they seemed to be (as the WD pics have been for the last couple of years lacking definition or resolution). When you cut costs it always shows somewhere
They look awesome! Really cool gothic-roman style and really well painted and shaded. Amazing work, sir!
ReplyDeleteGW? Being efficient and savvy? Oh, my poor idealistic friend.
ReplyDeletePaper publication not pulling its weight compared to a digital alternative? Print it four times as often!